More lyrical density and ambiguity on this week's Song by Song, as this track flirts both with a life on the railroad as well as the bad luck omens. Sam, Dave, Jen and Martin find multiple interpretations of this track (in Martin's case, a physical interpretation!) as Waits goes further than ever before into vocal experimentation. Groundbreaking!
Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Whistling’ Past the Graveyard, Blue Valentine, Tom Waits (1978)
Trouble, King Creole, Elvis Presley (1958)
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